Aaron White

Programming: The New Literacy

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:44:00 -0400

obsessivecompulsive:
Power will soon belong to those who can master a variety of expressive human-machine interactions.
“As the century goes on, those who don’t program — who can’t bend their increasingly sophisticated computers, machines, cars, and homes to their wills and needs — will, I predict, be increasingly left behind. Parents and teachers often disrespect today’s young people for being less than literate in the old reading-and-writing sense. But in turn, these young citizens of the future have no respect for adults who can’t program a DVD player, a mobile phone, a computer, or anything else. Today’s kids already see their parents and teachers as the illiterate ones.”
Interesting, but on a theoretical level I find it deeply disturbing.
This posits a false (and dangerous) antinomy in attempting to situate modes of literacy in the language of parallax.
“Classical” and “twenty-first-century” literacy are not mutually exclusive. If that were the case we would have given up on art a long time ago.

I don’t think this is putting a value ordering on ‘modern’ vs ‘classical’ literacy, just highlighting the importance of technical literacy in and of itself, and capturing the very real feeling the techno-savvy have when observing those who are not.

Of course, I also believe that we can’t forge ahead without universally raising the usability-bar. If for nothing else, I’ve enjoyed web 2.0’s effect of having highlighted, for this generation, the importance of easy, understandable systems.

Rocket Fuel

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:41:00 -0400

Rocket Fuel:

livejamie:

This is the most creative Tumblr theme I’ve seen in a long time.

Can’t argue that, it’s a beautiful design. The designers, friends Jace & Matt, are very talented. I’m heading to DC this weekend to headlock them into producing a custom theme for me as well. If you’d like a custom theme of your own, headlocks aren’t necessary, just contact them through http://www.justpayingthebills.com

I’ve been using AOL Instant Messaging for a decade. You know what has never worked reliably?...

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:22:22 -0400

I’ve been using AOL Instant Messaging for a decade. You know what has never worked reliably? Sending pictures through IM. AOL can’t do it right, and Gtalk can’t do it at all.

NASA put a man on the moon a decade after being challenged to do so. Hope this provides some perspective.

Video by Gary Vaynerchuk, colorful host of Wine Library TVGary...

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:42:00 -0400

Video by Gary Vaynerchuk, colorful host of Wine Library TV

Gary was in Boston about two weeks ago, filming an episode and hosting a wine tasting, which was followed by an after party in the hotel’s club. It was a great event.

After the party, I had the opportunity to sit down with him for about an hour, where we talked about the power of personal branding, and the gold-rush we’re currently in the middle of.

Gary truly believes that no matter what you blog, or post content about (be it text, podcast or video), if you’re passionate enough it’s possible for you to make a living. Maybe not a fantastic living in terms of $$, but a great living when you consider that work is talking about what you love.

I’ll post more relating to that conversation, but I wanted to comment now that I agree we are in a gold-rush. The resources (attention, audience, etc) are renewable, and certainly not finite in the sense of gold. However, I think “first movers” advantage in this micro-celebrity space is HUGE. Finding interesting personalities isn’t a problem that has a well known, general solution. People are still going to use Google to find you by topic, and that means you’re competing for attention via PageRank & keywords. Those who start creating interesting content today will have the search-results greater-height advantage when it comes to defending their authority on their favorite topic.

Facebook Observations

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:27:00 -0400

danielha:

I love reading the wall posts on Facebook event pages. Every single post is just someone saying they can’t make the event because they’re doing something better.
“Oh sorry I can’t make your birthday party, I’m going to be in Las Vegas partying with Puff Daddy.”
“Would love to make your baby shower, but ack! I have a civilian space flight trip to attend.”

Here’s another observation for you, Daniel. If you have any friends on Facebook who are younger (my brother’s age: 19) you’ll see a lot of groups like “Debra-Ditzy lost her mobile, needs your digits!”

Earth to Debra: your friend’s Facebook profile lists their mobile #. So drop the popularity contest, get off your lazy ass, and recover the numbers you lost yourself.

"It is completely unnecessary therefore completely indispensable"

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:38:54 -0400

“It is completely unnecessary therefore completely indispensable”

- dynek on the subject of http://icantdeci.de

I've Had Enough

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:42:00 -0400

jakoblodwick:

It’s time for me to end this. It’s not about Tumblr, specifically. It’s about the web in general. It’s become overrun by too many animals.

Positive letter for Jakob,

For what it’s worth, the web isn’t too different than the real world. People in both spaces love & hate the same thing: colorful personalities, strong opinions, success, and self-confidence.

Should you decide to return, we’ll be here. Like Bijan wrote, we’re rooting for you.

- Aaron

Startups: Diary of a Failed Startup -- the 100-word version

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:44:13 -0400

Startups: Diary of a Failed Startup -- the 100-word version: Valley wag summarizes some nice gems.

mattlanger:We decided today to finally take the wraps off of I...

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:17:00 -0400

mattlanger:

We decided today to finally take the wraps off of I Can’t Decide, a web service we’re billing as “a techno-crutch for the chronically indecisive.”

icantdeci.de is clean, useful, and works on the iPhone, which is great because it’s a handy bookmark for the indecisive person on the go. Ask a question, help a few others, and get your answer.

As for the intractable argument, I advocated Hillary Duff at the time. Next up I’m curious about Sushi vs. Thai for dinner….

Unrelenting Optimism

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:18:00 -0400

I’m an Unrelenting Optimist. I’m optimistic that if you pursue your goals unrelentingly, you’ll achieve them.

I hold true that you can make a living doing anything, as long as you have a clear goal, a passion, and are smart, flexible, dedicated and sociable.

The problem for most people isn’t the dream, it’s the willingness to pursue it unrelentingly while being realistic about the supporting skills they’ll need to pull it off. There is a powerful symbiosis between realism and optimism. Which side do you need to work on?

Confused & Music

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:26:00 -0400

I just downloaded the new “Girl Talk” album, which consists entirely of illegally sampled sound bytes from music of all genres, and synthesizes them into something entertaining.

I was given the choice of paying any amount I like for the privilege of downloading the music, I opted for zero dollars. (Note: I appreciate the artists work & talent, on the other hand, paying him endorses law-breaking, even if you don’t agree with the rules) I’m sure I’ve broken a few laws despite this.

This one experience is a tangled knot of just about every unresolved issue the music industry is stumbling through.

What it does highlight for me is that, whether you think it’s ‘good’ from a moral standpoint, or ‘good’ from a ‘we are heading there anyway’ perspective, music will be free. Not because it needs to be, or ‘wants’ to be, but because while the digital distribution juggernaut that is the Internet lumbered over the music industry’s meticulous little cash-village, the big-five chose to attack the problem in the form of wasps stinging a giant, instead of doing anything meaningful to control and steer the situation somewhere we’d all be happy.

Humans are still willing to pay for the music ‘experience’. We’ll still pay for concerts and shows. I hope all those who are passionate about making music will be able to scale up an audience large enough to support them in a reasonable way. Hats off to whoever helps solve that problem.

Finally, an accurate representation of how I feel in grocery...

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:03:37 -0400

Finally, an accurate representation of how I feel in grocery stores!

"Which is why I think GTA IV is next-gen’s siren song, and a sign of drastic changes to come. Expect..."

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:28:04 -0400

“Which is why I think GTA IV is next-gen’s siren song, and a sign of drastic changes to come. Expect to see games made for lower budgets, targeted at wider audiences (ones that aren’t fixated on high-end 3D graphics) and delivered over broadband with a micropayment program in place. Don’t expect a follow-up to the 360 or PS3 anytime soon, either. In other words, the days when so-called “next-gen” gaming reigned supreme are coming to end — instead, the industry’s future will be shaped by games like Rock Band.”

- Why GTA IV Was the Beginning of the End - GigaOM

Portmanteau of the Month: Transplendid

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:08:41 -0400

Definition: Adj., something that transcends splendor. Mash-up of transcendent and splendid.

I was sure that after much drinking, this was my unique creation, apparently this word was introduced earlier by Woody Allen. If you credit me by mistake, I won’t take offense.

I encourage you to find use for this transplendant word at least once this week. At the very least, make sure your spell-checker is cool with it. That’s a start.

99 times out of 100,

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 14:42:00 -0400

99 times out of 100,

If someone is upset with you, then it’s helpful to remember people only get upset when they care.

99 times out of 100,

If you’re angry with someone or something, you’re really just mad at yourself.

The universe is gracious enough to have given me ample opportunity to re-learn this.

"Any time you ask customers to self-segregate, they will put themselves in the best line. And just..."

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:59:22 -0400

“Any time you ask customers to self-segregate, they will put themselves in the best line. And just about any time you ask a customer to acknowledge that they were wrong, you will fail.”

- Seth Godin (via cubicle17)
More & more I keep thinking that this kind of ‘new marketing’ is modern-man’s attempt at formalizing, and organizing, social common sense.
Disclaimer: I’m a big fan of Seth Godin.

Briefly...

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:43:26 -0400

mattlanger:

… during this neverending collective journalistic orgasm over the Michelle and Barack knucks/bump/pound/fisting debacle, has it occurred to even just one of these idiots that this gesture is the now customary greeting in a lot of younger circles? I feel like the only substantive angle of deconstruction to leverage towards this issue has been completely overlooked: its symbolic representation of the generational turnover happening in American politics right now.
The “bump,” symbolically speaking, is right in line with the rejection among the youth of the still lingering style of bunker mentality Democratic politics offered up by the Clinton campaign. Obama accomplished something with his campaign that top-dollar operatives have sought for years: energizing young voters and getting them out to the polls. He did it by redefining the brand, and offering up an identity suitable to voters who didn’t live through Vietnam, who didn’t experience the widespread splintering of the left in the 70s, who grew up in an increasingly interconnected digital world where borders are blurring and the politics of response to the “Southern Strategy” grow more irrelevant by the day.
Perhaps pounding fists with his wife was what “kids today” might call “a shout out.” I know when I first saw the photo my only thought was: he’s one of us.

via jakoblodwick & mylifeinacubeIf you’re not out of...

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:01:00 -0400

via jakoblodwick & mylifeinacube

If you’re not out of your cubism phase, we can’t help you :)

Interesting discussion on virtual goods, consumer internet,...

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:25:00 -0400

Interesting discussion on virtual goods, consumer internet, advertising, etc, w/ Boston natives Dave Cancel, Don Dodge, Brian Balfour, & Nabeel Hyatt. Foreign interloper Fred Wilson contributes positively as well! :)

I Love a Good Walled Garden

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:45:00 -0400

Ok, I’ve beaten this horse before, and I’ll continue to do so whenever the urge arises…

Dear Internet & her Developers: Just because some app-platform is half-closed, half-proprietary, or a ‘walled garden’ does not make it bad. The reflexive cry of “but it’s not open!” falls on my deaf ears.

Walled gardens are just fine, thank you. If someone has a vision, and control is needed to execute to it, then that’s the way it is! Presumably the world will be a better place after that vision is realized than it was before. The net-effect of the introduction of the walled garden is positive.

When walled vs. open matters is when you have two services or two products that are reasonable substitutes. It’s in this scenario, that you can reflexively cry “open!” and I’d be forced to agree.

But how often does that happen, really? Is there a perfect substitute for Facebook? Not to my knowledge, so I find myself sitting-pretty inside their (hopefully) benevolently dictated zone.

My call-to-yall: open is not always greater than closed. Let’s applaud companies that focus on creating value, before we consider them in the light of open vs. closed.